That "big operation," a spokesman for the MCSO confirms to New Times, is a raid of a Days in in central Phoenix in search of illegal immigrants using fake IDs to work.

Not quite as sexy as the bust the MCSO made Monday night, during which three illegal immigrants sold cocaine to an undercover cop, leading to the discovery of several guns and more than four pounds of cocaine.

In this case, rather, the sheriff's boys in beige are rounding up people using fake identification in order to work.

Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, who hopes to unseat Arpaio as the Republican nominee for sheriff, told New Times last month that he thinks these types of immigrant roundups, and other tactics Arpaio's used to round up illegal immigrants/win the hearts of his blue-haired Sun City supporters waste deputies' time and taxpayer money.

"Immigration sweeps are totally ineffective," he says. "The focus needs to be on the organized crime component [of illegal immigration]: the human smuggling, the drug smuggling, the weapons smuggling."

Arpaio and his cronies have a pesky habit of referring to these immigrant roundups as "employer sanctions" operations. In no case, however, do any "employers" actually get arrested.

The MCSO says it will release details of the raid later today. Check back for updates.